Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Wednesday, July 10th.
The Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen is widely viewed as the missing piece to complete the Golden State Warriors’ offseason plans. Although news of any trade between the Warriors and Jazz have slowed down in recent days, an Aug. 6 deadline, when Markkanen officially becomes extension eligible, has become the new date to watch for a potential move.
In his latest article for The Athletic, Warriors reporter Anthony Slater explains why Aug. 6 has become an unofficial deadline on a deal, and why Golden State is reportedly “willing to wait” on a trade if it means landing one of the best shooting bigs in the NBA.
That would take Markkanen off the table for six months, if the extension is signed on Aug. 6, bringing him back into the mix on Feb. 6, the exact date of next season’s trade deadline. If Markkanen waits to extend an extra day, Aug. 7 or beyond, he’d be ineligible to be traded next season, an extra bit of leverage for Markkanen and an added layer of information to dictate Utah’s ultimate decision on his future.
For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Wednesday, July 10th:
The Sacramento Kings put a substantial picks-based package on the table for Markkanen last week, but they had a time crunch, so it was an exploding offer, league sources said. When the Jazz couldn’t give an answer in time, the Kings pivoted quickly to DeMar DeRozan, executing the three-team sign-and-trade for the next big fish on their board before he disappeared.
The Warriors are not operating with that type of urgency. They’re willing to wait for an answer on Markkanen, believing a level of clarity will arrive on Aug. 6, at the latest, considering the contractual dynamics.
"That is a genius move by the Spurs"
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) July 9, 2024
—@Money23Green on San Antonio teaming Chris Paul up with Wemby pic.twitter.com/aQbfupLQsZ
“I mean, I can clearly say I want to be a Warrior for life,” Curry told Yahoo Sports in an interview Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas. “It’s always been my goal, and I’m saying that sitting in this chair right now, but like you said, life, and especially life in the NBA, it is a wild environment, and things change quickly.”
Steph Curry wears the wire at #USABMNT practice!@ATT pic.twitter.com/uJSkucpSh7
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 9, 2024
In his first comments about George’s departure, Leonard said Friday that he and George knew what needed to happen for the duo to stay together with the LA Clippers.
George ended up signing a four-year, $212 million deal in free agency with the Sixers.
“We knew what it was before the season,” Leonard said after USA Basketball’s practice on Tuesday. “We knew what it was going to come down to. So, we talked the whole way through.
“It’s no surprise.”
LaVine is not a losing player
LaVine has been in some truly atrocious situations both in Chicago and Minnesota. He’s played for six different coaches in 10 years, including some of the worst of the last decade. His rosters have been mostly awful — 72 of his 101 teammates are out of the league today.
Names like Gorgui Dieng, Shabazz Muhammad and Ryan Arcidiacono litter the top 10 players that he’s played the most games alongside. Try winning games when Arcidiacono leads your team in win shares (that really happened, back in the 2018-19 season while LaVine was coming back early from an ACL tear).
Through it all, LaVine has managed to be wildly productive. He’s been near the top of the league in usage and well above average in terms of efficiency despite defenses loading up on him.
The @usabasketball Showcase Schedule
— NBA (@NBA) July 9, 2024
Watch #USABMNT take on Canada Wednesday at 10:30pm/et on FS1! pic.twitter.com/lSNqqPzJNw
“Sometimes change can spur greatness,” Thompson stated with a wry smile. “And a new change of scenery can do wonders. I’m very grateful for my time at Golden State, but I just felt like moving on could re-energize me and do something special for the rest of my career. And Dallas was so attractive because of the young players they have, the style of play, the world-class treatment these players get from this organization, and just a beautiful city who loves their hoops ... they look like they have fun playing with each other, they play for each other, and that was very attractive for me.”
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